Ron Rubin bought the Republic of Tea in 1994 from the people who founded the retail store Banana Republic. Rubin was a businessman with a wine and water background - he studied viticulture and enology at UC Davis and founded New Age Beverages, the master licensee for Clearly Canadian Sparkling Water. But tea was new for the entrepreneur, who saw its possibilities in the growing "good-for-you" market.

Growing up and working 22 years for his family's liquor, wine and beer distribution company in Mount Vernon, Ill., was good training, he said. The Republic of Tea, not quite 2 years old when he purchased it, has introduced 200 teas and tea-type products, including unsweetened bottled iced teas for restaurants, tea oil, books and tea ware.

The Novato company employs 100 people, whom Rubin refers to as ministers. Sales representatives are known as ambassadors and customers as citizens. His objective is to educate as many people as possible about the complexities of tea, including its medicinal uses. The company's slogan: "Sip by sip rather than gulp by gulp," emphasizes a lifestyle that makes room to enjoy the finer things in life.

Q:Your beverage background was in liquor, wine and bottled water. So why tea? How did you see it as the future?

A: In 1994 when I bought the business, there were a number of emerging health trends. People started thinking about fitness, running and jogging for their health. They started implementing more healthful lifestyle changes, and tea definitely fit in with that.

In fact, tea was the second most consumed beverage in America behind water.

Q:How has the tea industry changed since 1994?

A: When I started, there weren't a lot of specialty brands. It was mostly the big brands like Lipton. I think we gave birth to the specialty industry. Now you see hundreds of new tea companies emerging.

Q:In recent years consumers have become more educated and sophisticated about coffee. Are you seeing the same with tea consumers?

A: I think in a lot of ways tea is similar to the wine industry. We see beginner wine drinkers maybe start with a white Zinfandel and then graduate to more adventurous wines. It's very much become that way with tea drinkers. We've seen them go from tea bags to loose teas. Full-leaf tea has become a large segment. For us, it's grown 50 percent in the last five years.

Consumers are also traveling more to Asia and India, where they're becoming more educated about tea. They're learning about the different experience of a higher-quality tea and are maybe slowing down to take time to enjoy it - like their own tea ceremonies.

Q:What are your tea drinking habits?

A: I do a combination of loose tea and tea bags. Typically I start my day with Darjeeling, move to a green tea in the afternoon and end my day with a red tea.

Q:Your business model emphasizes a healthful workplace. How does that play into the tea business?

A: If our ministers are educated and are living a healthful lifestyle they're going to pass that on to our citizens (consumers). In 2008 we started a program that includes a company nutritionist who works with all of us as a group and individually. In addition, we provide a $500 annual stipend per employee to spend on a fitness club or if they want to sign up for a diet program, etc. We encourage our ministers to take walking breaks and provide each one with a pair of New Balance tennis shoes every year.